AFL trade: Angus Brayshaw negotiations, Will Hayward interest, Jack Martin talks on hold
Melbourne will honour Angus Brayshaw’s contract in full, but the club hope it won’t come out of their salary cap which would open the door for an elite recruit. Plus more trade and contract news here.
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Melbourne star Angus Brayshaw will receive every dollar of his $3 million-plus contract to 2028 as the Demons make progress on negotiations with the AFL about his contract status.
The Demons still have some work to do with the AFL to resolve how much money they can exclude from the cap after he was medically retired by the AFL after repeated concussions.
But the Demons believe they will be able to pay all or most of his remaining contract from 2025-2028 outside of their salary cap given the exceptional circumstances of his departure.
The only certainty is that his contract is not in doubt — it will be honoured in full by the Demons despite him having to give up his football career.
It would be a huge boost for the Demons to secure a full exemption on that $750,000 per season deal because it is in effect another elite player they can bring into their side through a trade or free agency acquisition.
The AFL will have to play ball with clubs on medical retirements because if clubs did not stump up salaries the players might take legal action to recoup the money.
Then the league might have to work through those financial issues rather than having the clubs responsible for paying former players.
But there will clearly be strict parameters to ensure clubs do not take advantage of the league’s largess by dodging salary commitments to players.
SWAN SET FOR ATTENTION
Sydney free agent Will Hayward has become a player of significant interest across the competition as the Swans continue their search for more ready-made forwards.
Adelaide-raised Hayward has played a selfless team-first role at the Swans in the Lance Franklin era but in his free agency year has been given more licence to play deep from the square across pre-season.
He showed that potential with two goals against Melbourne on a night where the new-look forward line took care of business.
Hayden McLean kicked two goals and gave Brodie Grundy a chop-out while Logan McDonald kicked a goal but was otherwise quiet on a slippery, dewey night.
In a thin free agency market Hayward will put himself in a position of power with a 30-plus goal season after 28, 34 and 25 in the past three seasons.
There is a natural link back home to South Australian-based clubs but he has admirers across the competition.
BLUES FORWARD TO WAIT
Carlton mid-forward Jack Martin will wait until the second half of the season to assess his contract worth as his $3 million, five-year deal expires at the Blues.
Carlton is in an excellent position with its list management with only Martin, Matt Cottrell and Caleb Marchbank out of contract of the club’s upper tier.
Martin has plenty of clubs inquiring about his availability given the back-end of his 2023 season was so strong as a running half forward with elite skills who showed increased physicality.
But while West Coast is a natural fit they seem strong about heading to the national draft again.
Martin turns 26 in August so he will be desperate to overcome a knee injury and bank a 20-game season given his best games tally in four years at Carlton is only 15.
DOGS SEEK EARLY SANDERS DEAL
The Western Bulldogs will seek to kickstart talks with first-year mid Ryley Sanders early in the season as clubs assess new rules barring them from signing top-20 picks until round 6.
Previously first-round picks taken the previous November often signed a new two-year deal to lock them away for four total years before they even played an AFL game.
They are all now signed to mandatory three-year deals.
The AFL hopes those new rules will allow non-Victorian clubs more time to retain high picks and stop the inflationary effect of handing third-year players deals of $500,000.
The pause on locking away those players until round 6 means managers have some time to assess their progress, and can only help the worth of a player like much-hyped Sanders.
The Dogs still need to lock away second-year pick Jedd Busslinger, their No.13 pick from the 2022 national draft.
But after a hugely interrupted first pre-season he has put together a great summer after 19 solid but not amazing VFL games as an intercept defender.
It should put the East Perth defender on track for a strong start to 2024 and a new deal with the Dogs with a minimum of fuss.
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Originally published as AFL trade: Angus Brayshaw negotiations, Will Hayward interest, Jack Martin talks on hold
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